According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2023, the total retail sales of consumer goods will 471495 billion yuan, an increase of 7.2% over the previous year. In 2023, the retail sales of department stores, convenience stores, specialty stores and brand stores among retail units above designated size increased by 8.8%, 7.5%, 4.9% and 4.5% respectively over the previous year, while the retail sales of supermarkets decreased by 0.4% over the previous year.
Under the impact of live e-commerce, community group buying, and instant delivery, the decline of traditional supermarkets has become an inevitable trend. Under the national policy of promoting the "15-minute community life circle", convenience stores have ushered in good development in recent years. Since 2023, the pace of expansion has been more stable and rational. Among them, Meiyijia, Lawson and other leading convenience store brands are more planned to open stores and maintain rapid expansion, while new retail-related convenience stores have lost the blessing of capital, and the expansion rate has decreased sharply.
According to the latest "Annual Research Report on the Application Segmentation of China's Commercial Freezer Industry [Supermarkets and Convenience Stores] released by Industry Online, in 2023, the domestic sales of supermarket convenience store freezers will be 894,000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 1.0%.
2019-2023 Trend of Commercial Cabinet Sales in Mainland Supermarket Convenience Store Scenario
In different segments, different development trends are also presented:
Product Trends: Food freezers dominate and are relatively stable
In terms of further subdivision of applications, food freezer products come in various forms, including combined island cabinets, ice cream cabinets and other types, with a wide range of applications, and have certain advantages in terms of price and installation, and are the leading products of commercial freezers in the scenario of supermarkets and convenience stores, accounting for about 40% of the products in 2023.
The distribution of functional beverage brands has also increased, driving a slight increase in the scale of beverage cabinets and refrigerated cabinets in the supermarket convenience store scenario, while the scale of remote display cabinets will decline due to the decrease in the number of large supermarkets opening stores, accounting for 6.8% of sales volume in 2023, and the unit price of remote display cabinet products will be high, accounting for 27.6% of domestic sales.
2023 Proportion of Commercial Freezer Segment Products by Supermarket Convenience Store Scenario (by Internal Sales Volume)
Structural trend: vertical freezers dominate and the proportion is increasing
From the perspective of product structure, vertical freezers have many advantages such as small floor space, easy access, and can attract customers, and at the same time have more advantages in energy efficiency and noise, and have been widely used in supermarket and convenience store scenarios. In 2023, the proportion of vertical freezers will be 59.4%, an increase of 2 percentage points year-on-year.
In contrast, horizontal freezers and service cabinets are mainly used in large supermarkets, and the demand is relatively stable, but the proportion has continued to shrink in recent years due to the slowdown in the opening of supermarkets.
2023 Segmentation Structure of Commercial Freezers in Supermarkets and Convenience Stores (by Internal Sales Volume)
Refrigerant trend: R290 dominates and the proportion continues to increase
As a natural refrigerant, R290 has the advantages of environmental protection, high energy efficiency and low cost, and is widely used in the field of commercial refrigeration cabinets. At present, the application of R290 in supermarket convenience store scenarios occupies a dominant position, and the application proportion of R290 in supermarket convenience store freezers will reach 63.0% in 2023, and the proportion of market application will continue to increase.
At the same time, companies are also actively trying other environmentally friendly refrigerants such as R448A, but the proportion is very small.
2023 Commercial Freezer Segment Refrigerant Ratio by Supermarket Convenience Store Scenario (by Internal Sales Volume)
Installation trend: self-contained commercial freezers are in an absolute dominant position
The self-contained commercial freezer is easy to install, has a wide range of products, and is more widely used, and has obvious advantages in terms of cost and cycle. In 2023, self-brought commercial freezers will account for 93.2% of the share, and the share will continue to increase.
With the advantages of high energy efficiency, low noise and personalized customization, remote commercial freezers are mainly used in medium and large supermarkets and high-end chain convenience stores, and the proportion has been decreasing in recent years.
2023 Segmentation and Installation Ratio of Commercial Freezers in Supermarket Convenience Store Scenarios (by Internal Sales Volume)
Related report recommendations
The research scope of the Industrial Online Refrigeration Division includes refrigerators and freezers, commercial freezers, light commercial equipment, industrial and commercial refrigeration units, refrigeration compressors and other related fields, and the reporting system covers upstream and downstream related industrial chains, and the data indicators include global, domestic and foreign sales, production, sales and inventory and other dimensions. The following is a partial list of research reports:
Classic Report Series:
"Annual Research Report on China's Refrigerator and Freezer Industry"
"Monthly Research Report on Production and Sales of China's Refrigerator/Freezer Industry"
"Monthly Research Report on Production Plan and Scale Forecast of China's Refrigerator/Freezer Industry"
Annual Research Report on China's Light Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Industry [Commercial Ice Machines, Commercial Ice Cream Machines, Light Commercial Cabinets, etc.)
Annual Research Report on China's Cold Chain Commercial Equipment Industry [Refrigerated Trucks, Cold Storage, Refrigeration Showcases]
"Monthly Research Report on Production and Sales of China's Fully Enclosed Piston Compressor Industry"
Global Report Series:
"Global Refrigerator & Freezer Industry Production Quarterly Research Report"
"Global Refrigerator & Freezer Industry Annual Research Report"
Annual Research Report on the Global Enclosed Piston Compressor Industry
"Quarterly Report on the Analysis and Judgment of Public Opinion in the Global White Electricity Industry"